THREE Liverpool men and a youth appeared at North Sefton Magistrates’ Court last Friday on charges of attempting to break into a Chinese restaurant in Formby.

Scott Howard, 18, of Highfield Road, Walton, David Joseph Mulhaney, 21, and Michael Anthony Mulhaney, 18, both of Portree Close, Walton, and a youth all pleaded not guilty to the offence, which was alleged to have occurred at the Golden Bridge restaurant on Duke Street on October 30 last year.

The youth also pleaded not guilty to a further charge of going equipped for theft when the court heard he was allegedly carrying bolt cutters.

The four defendants were all given conditional bail by magistrates chairman Rivell Johnson on the understanding that they do not enter Formby or Southport and were instructed to live and sleep at their respective addresses.